From scorching heat to rising tides: Climate highlights of 2023

Whether in cramped urban areas or traditionally temperate regions, 2023 saw record-breaking temperatures that pushed affected communities and ecosystems to their limits across the globe.

Greenhouse gas levels — coupled with the arrival of the El Nino weather cycle, which warmed surface waters in the eastern and central Pacific Ocean — pushed the world’s climate into “uncharted territory” in 2023, making it the hottest year since the 1990s, according to scientists.

Between January to September, the global mean temperature soared to 1.40°C above the pre-industrial era, breaching the 1.5°C warming mark outlined in the Paris Agreement for a record number of days.

The Copernicus Climate Change Service highlighted the extraordinary nature of the ongoing warming of the climate experienced in 2023, as every month from July onwards broke temperature records.

Prolonged heatwaves

The impact of the sweltering heat gripped the Northern Hemisphere as early as April.

The Middle East and North Africa experienced severe and unusually persistent scorching temperatures that led Iran to declare emergency public holidays due to “unprecedented heat”, with temperatures exceeding 51°C in its southern cities. Meanwhile, Morocco recorded a new national record of 50.4°C in the southern coastal city of Agadir.

Europe faced its own challenges, with Spain breaking temperature records in April. Italy, Greece and Cyprus witnessed prolonged periods of extreme highs over 44°C, triggering red heat-health alerts in several cities.

In Asia, China recorded an unprecedented temperature of 52.2 °C on July 16, with temperatures above 35°C persisting for four weeks in Beijing. In South Korea, at least 16 people died from heat-related illnesses as the country saw a prolonged heatwave, with temperatures above 38°C in some parts, media reported on August 2.

In the United States, a relentless and extreme heatwave affected multiple southwest states, with Death Valley reaching an astonishing 53°C.

South America faced an unusual midwinter heatwave in August, leading to all-time high temperatures, and Rio de Janeiro broke a 117-year heat record.

Catastrophic wildfires

Catastrophic wildfires, fuelled by searing heat, swept across diverse landscapes, leaving behind a wake of destruction and contributing to a surge in greenhouse gas emissions.

Canada, Greece, Italy, Türkiye and Hawaii were among the regions grappling with unprecedented infernos that threatened biodiversity and human settlements.

In Greece, a fierce blaze ignited on August 19 claimed 21 lives and became the country’s most extensive forest fire in two decades. The Greek Meteorological Department reported that over 720,000 acres of forested land were ravaged in two regions.

Meanwhile, a series of intense wildfires broke out in August in the picturesque islands of Hawaii. Maui witnessed ferocious flames that claimed the lives of 100 people in Lahaina, marking the deadliest forest fires in the United States in the last century.

Canada bore witness to an unparalleled wildfire, setting records as the largest in the nation's history and among the world's largest in the past decade. The Canadian Interagency Forest Fire Centre reported that the scale of land affected surpassed that of the devastating 1989 fires, consuming over 7.6 million hectares.

At the end of July, Türkiye's Agriculture and Forestry Minister reported 1,022 forest fires occurred across Türkiye in 2023, damaging some 6,900 hectares of land.

Devastating floods

Triggered by super-cyclones, torrential floods wreaked havoc across the globe, submerging cities and agricultural lands and displacing communities far and wide.

India, Bangladesh, Pakistan, Brazil, China, Türkiye, Bulgaria and Greece experienced massive floods, with the most significant impact experienced by Libya.

Associated with extreme rainfall from Mediterranean Cyclone Daniel, flooding in northeast Libya killed more than 11,000 people, according to the UN, and left thousands missing.

Droughts pushed millions into hunger

Droughts, fuelled by shifting weather patterns, plunged various regions towards water scarcity, jeopardizing agriculture and livelihoods in affected areas. The dire consequences were most acutely felt in vulnerable communities, where millions faced hunger due to crop failure and water shortages.

In Zimbabwe and Madagascar, long-running droughts destroyed agricultural output, pushing millions into hunger.

The Greater Horn of Africa endured five consecutive seasons of drought, followed by floods, leading to further human displacement.

In Central and South America, a long-term drought intensified, causing rainfall in northern Argentina and Uruguay to fall 20 to 50 percent below the average, resulting in crop losses and low water storage levels.

Global meetings for collective action

The 28th session of the Conference of the Parties to the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (COP28) took place in Dubai from November 30 to December 13, 2023.

Participating nations approved of a groundbreaking roadmap for "transitioning away from fossil fuels," marking a historic shift. However, the deal fell short of a long-demanded call for a complete "phase-out" of oil, coal, and gas.

The convention resulted in agreements on mitigation measures that now include a commitment to a fossil fuel phase-out, with COP28 countries aiming to achieve net-zero emissions by 2050.

Negotiators also agreed to triple the capacity of renewables and double energy efficiency by 2030, making progress in adaptation and finance.

The establishment of a loss-and-damage fund for climate-vulnerable developing countries marked a significant step forward.

What to expect from 2024

As we close the chapter on 2023, scientists warn that we may experience another year of record-breaking heat propelled by escalating emissions and the influence of the El Nino weather phenomenon.

“We anticipate that 2024 is going to be an even warmer year because we’re going to be starting off with that El Nino event,” said NASA scientist Gavin Schmidt.

“That will peak towards the end of this year, and how big that is is going to have a big impact on the following year’s statistics.”

There is a reasonable chance that 2024 will be the first year in which the average global surface temperature is greater than 1.5°C above that of the pre-industrial period, the UK's Met Office forecasts.

In Palestine’s Gaza, which is being continuously bombarded by Israeli air strikes, experts predict an "uninhabitable" future due to the environmental fallout from Israel’s devastating warfare.

“Air pollution, water pollution, soil pollution, toxic contamination and large volumes of greenhouse gas emissions are caused by military conflict,” UN Special Rapporteur on human rights and the environment David R. Boyd told TRT World.